Canon R5 - Taking Photos when Camera is OFF

[MPhotography]

Hi Community,

I've got an odd issue with my Canon R5, where when a battery is inserted, the camera may start "taking photos" or opening and closing the shutter when powered off. It's not saving them to the SD card, but randomly will start making noise as if such when a battery is inserted. I've got a couple different batteries, and it does this with all of them. I've confirmed the battery cabinet as well as the batteries themselves are clean, but it will still do this and drain the batteries until there is nothing left. It can be 5mins before it starts doing this, it could be over 48 hours with a battery inserted before it starts doing this. I haven't been able to troubleshoot this.

I can't use the camera when it is doing this - the camera prevents me from shooting - so any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

Sorry this is happening.  Did anything precede this behavior?  Started after camera's firmware was flashed, dropped, got wet, hooked up to somethings it shouldn't have been used with, etc. please share.  

Remove anything attached to the camera.  Put the body cap on.  Remove any memory card(s).  Power on the camera and reset its main and custom settings.  Turn it back off.  If it does anything except sit there turned off, contact Canon and plan to send it in for inspection and repair.  

If support or repair is needed:

MyCanon

[MPhotography]

Hi Rick,

This issue has been occuring for about 8 months, and can honestly say there wasn't any damage/dropping/water/dusting of the camera that prompted this response. 

It has been difficult to track since I'll have weeks where nothing happens, and then 5 occurrences of this in two weeks. 

I've already performed the suggested steps, and the issue will stop and then persist later. 

My camera is still on 1.4.0 firmware, but I'm not sure if this is a firmware issue. I also am concerned of repair costs, since from all I can tell this issue was present in the camera when I got it. My fault for not pushing more during the warranty period, but the claim I put apparently isn't in the system. 

Kind Regards,

Margo 

[Stephen]

Just so the community can try to understand your situation, I have a handful of questions:

What battery are you using (brand and model)?
Which lens?
Any lens adapter? If so, what brand?
What kind of memory card - brand/capacity/physical size (micro/full)?
Is the camera plugged into anything (your computer/USB C charger)? 

Please let us know if you can think of anything I haven't mentioned that you're using with your setup! It's important to know what brand and model your accessories are so we can try to rule them out! 😊 

[MPhotography]

Hi,

1. I have both Canon and knock-off LP-E6NH Batteries. The issue occurs with any of the batteries I own, which made me think it wasn't the battery but the body.

2. I have the 24-105mm Canon RF lens which came with the camera typically, but the issue can occur with no lens on the camera. 

3. No adaptor

4. SanDisk Ultra Plus or Extreme 32GB, the issue occurs regardless of which of the 2 SD cards are inserted

5. The camera is not plugged in or wired to anything. 

The random shuttering is insane, because I'll have a week of classes and won't do anything, and Friday morning I'll wake up to it clicking off in the cabinet with no interaction after 5 days of inactivity. Or after I get home from a shoot, it will be doing this! It truly is random...

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

The camera has a 1 yr warranty.  It sounds like you are past this point?  I don't see how you can use the camera reliably in this state.  

What I recommended any why.  Removing all accessories (lens, cards, flash, etc.)  This ensures no influence from a faulty device.  When reset, the default behavior for the camera is release shutter without card, so no card present will still allow the camera to simulate image capture.  

A behavior like you describe if not caused by an accessory (and I can't image one that would) sounds like a mainboard fault.  The power switch would not cause the camera to capture images on its own.

FW 1.4.0 sounds like the shipping FW with the body.  Currently v1.8.1 is available.  The performance enhancements between then and now are very significant.  Whenever there is a power related issue, I am reluctant to recommend a software update.  My first recommendation is send it to Canon.

However, you said the behavior has disappeared for months at a time, only to reappear.  Since you have not updated the FW, I agree this is unlikely to be a software issue.  

Ultimately, a visit to Canon might be the best option.  The body is too valuable not to have it repaired and functioning 100%. 

[MPhotography]

Greetings,

I will try resetting again and if it persists I may have to ship it. 

While I can prevent me from working, it hasn't been too debilitating, since I have 4 batteries I switch them around until it pauses and let's me shoot. It is more stressful than anything else, as it will open and close the shutter until the battery is dead, once it's started, so I have to stop what I'm doing and take the battery out if I don't want to listen to it. 

I agree this camera is too expensive to have it not working properly, so I will hopefully be able to have it resolved soon. 

Thank you for all the insight. 

[Waddizzle]

If you use wireless communication, make certain that it is disabled when not in use.  I recommend that you check this setting, regardless.